Several dozen students, faculty and staff filed into Humanities 115 last Friday for a lunchtime speech by Ray Raymond, a former longtime political advisor to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Raymond, who now teaches at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, talked about Blair's rise to power, his philosophy on dealing with terrorist groups and the war in Iraq. He also defended Blair's close relationship with President George W. Bush, saying both men share a deep moral vision.
“But make no mistake, Tony Blair is no one's poodle,'' Raymond told the audience.
Raymond, who also serves as chairman of the Marshall Scholarships for the New York region, took questions from the group during his hour-long appearance, including several about Blair's political ideology. Raymond said it's difficult to attach any label to Blair and recalled the prime minister's address to a joint session of Congress in 2003.
After Blair's passionate speech in defense of American values, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said, “I loved watching all those Republicans cheer a liberal.''
Raymond then reminded the Union audience of Sen. Pete V. Domenici's response to Dodd's assessment of Blair's political standing.
“If he's a liberal, I'm a commie,'' said the Republican from New Mexico.